Bishop Estate
Reader Response

Saturday, August 23, 1997

Micromanaging may be
in the blood of trustees

Thank goodness Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop didn't found a hospital. Then we'd see Henry Peters writing prescriptions, and Lokelani Lindsey would insist on being chief of surgery.

John Sender
(Via the Internet)

If trustees love trust,
they must walk away

My grandfather, John Inu Kanekoa -- who farmed the taro patches of Waipio Valley, the father of 12 children -- exemplified his leadership and authority by always creating an atmosphere of acceptance, warmth, gentleness, goodness and a spirit of love, always putting the feelings and concerns of others above his own.

As I reflect on the sense of community that prevailed in the Kanekoa family, I am deeply saddened by the response of the Bishop Estate trustees (with the exception of Oswald Stender) to the unhappy situation that has been placed before them. It is evident that there is no goodness here.

As an act of true concern for the interest of so many and the future of Bishop Estate/Kamehameha Schools, they have no alternative but to resign. This alone will demonstrate where their hearts lie.

Jolene Gerell

Too many other problems
warrant 'investigation'

I'm glad the governor and his allies in the media are paying so much attention to a matter affecting such a small part of the community. But I guess it distracts voters from other issues -- like how we continue to pay the highest insurance premiums in the country while our insurance carriers make the highest profits, prison overcrowding, a skyrocketing crime rate, a budget shortfall of unprecedented proportion, a convention center we don't need and can't afford.

If Governor Cayetano is so concerned that the selection of trustees by the Supreme Court is tainted and political, he should investigate the Supreme Court, not a private entity. Clean up your own backyard before looking through the fence at the neighbor's.

Brad Bennett
Mililani
(Via the Internet)

It is premature to indict
trustees; wait for report!

It is disheartening to read the series of allegations aimed at the trustees of the Bishop Estate, especially since what we know is primarily from newspapers and TV sound bites. How accurate are these reports?

Are we on a witch hunt or do we truly seek the truth? Let us exercise aloha and fairness before we rush to judgment. Let us wait for Judge Patrick Yim's fact-finding report.

Amy Hayashi

Alumni association should
be selecting the trustees

Three of the most powerful politicians in Hawaii have gotten three of the most coveted jobs in Hawaii. The low morale, huge financial losses and questionable future of Kamehemeha Schools/Bishop Estate were caused by the current trustees. The solution is to get politics out of KS/BE and hold the trustees responsible for the effects of their mismanagement.

The priceless legacy of the princess should be guided by the Hawaiian people, not by the political system that runs the state. Only one organization represents the best interests for the future educational needs of Hawaiian people: the alumni association of Kamehameha Schools.

The Supreme Court should immediately turn over the trustee selection process to its members. And the current trustees, in acknowledgment of their responsibility for KS/BE's current problems, should resign.

Geoffrey B. Goeggel
Kaneohe

Supreme Court justices
are just as culpable

Is it possible the Supreme Court justices seriously considered John Waihee for the position of Bishop Estate trustee? Knowing how he took over state government with a huge budget surplus and left it with a huge deficit, no one in his or her right mind could consider the former governor for a position where the main task is handling finances.

Your Aug. 16 editorial said that "if (Waihee) had accepted, it would have been the ultimate step in politicizing the Bishop Estate." If he had been appointed, it would have been the ultimate politicizing of the Supreme Court.

If Waihee had been named, we would all be calling for the impeachment of the justices, rather than just for the removal of the Bishop Estate trustees.

C. Keith Haugen
(Via the Internet)

The Tale of the
Bishop Estate Four

Lokelani Lindsey,
Look what you've done!
Just when the gang
Was having such fun.

Peters and Jervis,
And Chair Dickie Wong:
"Keeping the trust,
Doing no wrong."

Making big bucks,
Wielding great power.
Safely inside
An ivory tower.

But now...

Alumni are marching,
Parents, as well.
Faculty, students
Angry as hell.

The Gov wants your books
For a thorough review.
IRS folks
Want a look at them, too.

The Senator's worried,
The High Court's defensive.
Everyone knows
You're way too expensive!

Reporters, attorneys
Circling aroun'.
Head for the hills!
Get out of town!

The bees are excited
Buzzing your door.
Waiting to sting
The Bishop Estate Four!

C. Richard Fassler

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Bishop Estate Archive

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Letters

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New economic panel must
set environmental limits

To preserve the lifestyle and beauty of Hawaii, what is the environmental capacity of our state, expressed in the number of residents and visitors? This is the first question that should be answered by the task force.

I urge that we aim the economy of Hawaii to not more than the economic level that conforms to the environmental capacity of Hawaii.

The statewide population will begin to stabilize. Traffic will begin to level off. Residents will adjust to the resultant standard of living. The environment will not suffer due to overdevelopment. Resentment of visitors will decrease. Lifestyle on all islands will be more easily preserved. Hospitality will be more like what I knew in 1933.

Presently the environmental load is running about 6.8 million visitors a year, 1.1 million residents, and a 1.3 million de facto population. Can the environmental capacity be higher, or is the present load about right?

E. Alvey Wright
Kailua

Councilman Kawahara
was pursuer of peace

I will always remember former Councilman Bill Kawahara's courageous stance to make Hawaii County a nuclear-free zone of peace, including no nuclear-powered or armed warships. Even during the Cold War chill of the Reagan years, Bill had a special way of keeping his eyes on the prize.

He carried with him and brought to Council hearings a sizable sculpture depicting the words of the prophet Isaiah 2:4, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again."

Perhaps someday, if we carry on the vision of Bill Kawahara, the saddle area of our sacred mountains will become a temple of peace instead of a training center for war, and Polynesian sailing ships, instead of guided missile destroyers, will be invited to island cultural festivals. After all, what's so festive about a warship?

The struggle continues. Thank you, Bill. Rest in peace.

Jim Albertini
Olaa, Hawaii

Foster children fare
extremely well in Hawaii

An Aug. 7 News Watch column referred to a report issued by the Institute for Children on foster care and adoption. The report was uncomplimentary about Hawaii's efforts in finding permanent homes for foster children in 1996. We have not seen the report but suspect the numbers refer to a period ended June 30, 1995.

The Institute's report is in contradiction with another study. The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is the leading child welfare organization in the country, and sets the national standards for child welfare services.

According to two charts in the "1997 CWLA Stat Book," Hawaii has the highest number of children adopted in the nation and is number five in placing children in extended families, which is considered "a highly desirable form of placement for a child who needs to be out of the home."

These charts prove Hawaii is providing exceptional services to children.

Kathleen G. Stanley
Acting Director
State Department of Human Services

Dole Cannery complex
doesn't understand market

Dole Cannery is yet another example of a shopping mecca that catered mostly to a tourist market and neglected local people (Aug. 5, "Dole Cannery loses three more tenants"). More important, it is evidence of the lack of understanding of retail in general.

To think that a nearby Home Depot would have helped Dole Cannery tenants is very naive. The demographics and mindset of someone shopping at a Home Depot is different from someone who shops at the type of stores in Dole Cannery. Who goes out for saws and drill bits on the same day they shop for lingerie and jewelry?

Convert the vacant spaces at Dole Cannery into office space for upstart businesses and make leases attractive.

Henry Yamamoto
Issaquah, Wash.
(Via the Internet)

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Same-sex archive

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